The House of Dudley

Reviews

Joanne Paul reveals how the might of the Tudor dynasty was built on the blood and sweat of three generations of another family - the Dudleys Hugely entertaining Fascinating Exciting and immersive. An immensely entertaining history, capturing in full Tudor brilliance the cut-throat glamour of the English throne and the most audacious family to play its game House of Dudley is a full-blooded affair, as good on the horrors of war as it is on the soft power of the Dudley women, and written in a lively, episodic style that presents each Dudley as a foil to the monarch they served Breathes new life into an old and familiar Tudor story. [She] negotiates the labyrinth of Tudor politics with skill, producing a book much more comprehensible and illuminating than others I've read . . . It's delightful, a joy to read Joanne Paul's account of this family is rich and compelling. She manages to hit that sweet spot where scholarly history overlaps with dramatic storytelling; she conjures up the look and feel of Tudor life, down to the clothes, the medicines and the furniture, while also being a skilful filler-in of political background . . . Whether or not you have ever succumbed to Mantelmania, you will find yourself drawn in, fascinated, and richly informed Captivating and thought-provoking . . . Sheds immense light onto this often-overlooked family An enthralling read told by Paul with great verve and an eye for the telling detail . . . The family's complex history is concisely and compellingly related The crowning jewel in its genre . . . I can't recommend this book enough. Unputdownable When reading Joanne Paul's lively history of the house of Dudley, it is impossible not to be reminded of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall trilogy . . . Paul uses the experiences of the Dudleys to light up odd corners and backroom spaces of Tudor palace life Joanne Paul chronicles the meteoric rise and deadly fall of the Dudleys This is riveting stuff: death, desire, power and scandal. Paul has made the most of it, producing a well written and historically grounded page-turner . . . Game of Thrones looks tame compared with the real-life machinations of the Dudleys and the Tudors Praise for Joanne Paul's monograph on Thomas More Brilliant and lucid. This is an original and illuminating work that should be compulsory Fascinating. Paul shows an impressive mastery A hugely entertaining history of three generations of the Dudley family, who dominated the Tudor court A twist on the Tudors . . . Enormously entertaining - a sheer joy to read A tour-de-force of Tudor history, as seen through the eyes of a family with a front-row view of almost every major political event in sixteenth-century England. Remarkable A thrilling and deeply researched study of power and conspiracy: the rise and fall of the other Tudor dynasty. The House of Dudley illuminates the fascinating men and women who almost became kings and queens in their own right Vivid, innovative and authoritative. I could not recommend The House of Dudley more highly. It's a real lesson in how to revitalise the writing of Tudor history

I am hugely impressed by The House of Dudley and by the depths of research.
This is a pacy narrative, vividly written, that makes you want to read on and on.
Joanne Paul is a major new talent in the field and I eagerly await her next book

Visceral and illuminating. The extraordinary House of Dudley is the Tudor Game of Thrones. Paul has produced a painstakingly detailed first book with spirit and verve Expand reviews